The location of seals for moving glass systems in a daylight opening affects seal performance and the overall fit and finish of a seal and a glass pane within the mounting aperture. Consistent fit and finish of moving glass systems are under increasing performance scrutiny in an effort to achieve uniform margins and flushness between glass-to-door configurations, glass-to-vehicle frame configurations, and rear quarter glass-to-door and frame configurations. Currently, large variations exist in the margins and flushness between a door glass and the adjacent vehicle components noted above. A prominent factor in the large variations of margins and flushness is the tolerance zone to which a glass run is located. Inconsistent lines and poor aesthetic appearance result between a door glass and adjacent vehicle components when a glass run system is located to a structural feature having a tolerance zone that is high enough for noticeable variation. Such variation is not only aesthetically displeasing, but can be a hazard as inadequate guiding and sealing systems may cause a glass pane to vibrate while driving on rough roads, and may also lead to binding during typical glass function. Additional problems include glass “blow-out” due to wind flow vortex around a glass pane that may cause a pressure differential which pulls a glass pane outboard and away from the guiding and sealing system to further produce noise in the form of rattle and vibration.
Tolerance zones exist in all component parts that make up a vehicle. These tolerance zones indicate how much a specific location is prone to deviate from an ideal position. Thus, in an effort to provide the most consistent and reliable fit and finish of a glass run system, it is necessary to locate the glass run system to vehicle components with reduced, tighter, or at least, more consistent tolerance zones. Every attachment location of a glass run system is subject to some possible deviation due to the tolerance zone of the specific attachment location. Currently, inner panel assemblies and ring frames, or other like reinforcements, are coupled together to form assemblies to which a glass run is located. The tolerance zone for such an assembly is affected by how the individual parts of the assembly collectively deviate from the ideal part definition.
Measurement uncertainties, in the nature of tolerance zones, account for both misaligned fit and finish as well as increased noise when the tolerance zones exceed an acceptable level. By locating a glass run system to attachment features exhibiting more consistent tolerance zones, the final fit and finish of the system exhibits reduced uncertainties, such that more accurate determinations can be made as to whether the individual features, such as margins and flushness of a glass pane, are within a given tolerance zone.
Accordingly, a vehicle flush glass design is desired, wherein systems with the least tolerance variation are identified and utilized, resulting in a consistent overall performance as it relates to final fit and finish.